What burning questions are Carolina Panthers fans asking ahead of their Week 9 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts?
There is no longer a zero in the Carolina Panthers' win column.
After six weeks of inconsistency, including a winless preseason, the Panthers put together their best performance of the campaign thus far with their first win of the year against the C.J. Stroud-led Houston Texans. It wasn't pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but Frank Reich's team got the job done a long last.
It's a weight off the shoulders of an organization and fanbase that saw its worst start since 1998. For the first time since the offseason, there is hope and optimism from fans as Carolina enters a stretch of games that could be considered winnable if the offense shows the level of consistency that it did this past weekend.
It was great to enjoy a few days of digesting a victory. Now, the Panthers look to add to the win column this weekend when the Indianapolis Colts come to town for a late afternoon matchup.
As you may have noticed, the Panthers are still 1-6 with plenty of issues to address. While they are slowly getting healthy on defense, there are still concerns along the offensive line and at wide receiver despite a more efficient offense under new play-caller Thomas Brown.
Fans brought some questions that need answering for this edition of the Cat Crave mailbag, including why left tackle Ikem Ekwonu continues to struggle this season. Following a win, there wasn't much to be too overly concerned about. Even so, the mailbag rolls on.
Without further ado, here are four burning questions Panthers fans are asking heading into their game against the 3-5 Colts.
Why is Ikem Ekwonu struggling?
Can you give me a legitimate reason why Ikem should not be moved inside and look for other options at tackle? The film speaks for itself at this point. I defended him from the start but the tape of him not being an NFL tackle is adding up. - @GingerThoughtzz
Patience and development is the reason why Ikem Ekwonu shouldn't be moved to left guard or why the Carolina Panthers shouldn't find another starting left tackle.
Sure, I had decently high expectations of a Year 2 jump from the former No. 6 overall pick. There was promise last season from a technical aspect of his game. Ekwonu showed he could be a great run-blocking tackle and still is, in my opinion. He was a raw, yet gifted offensive tackle who graded out as my No. 3 player at his position.
The concerns I had with Ekwonu coming out of North Carolina State are being put on full display nine weeks into his second year. These include the tendency to overextend - causing a loss of balance, inconsistent hand placement, and struggling to counter inside moves - Jonathan Greenard was torching him with those this past Sunday.
I'll maintain that these issues are correctable. Ekwonu shouldn't have to rely solely on his athleticism, power, and tenacity in pass protection.
Moving Ekwonu to left guard would not help solve or alleviate these concerns, especially at a point when Carolina has a stretch of games that seem winnable on paper. I don't think Ricky Lee is some sort of All-Pro tackle in waiting nor starting him would ease those blindside issues.
I've said this before and I'll say it again, Ekwonu's development path is eerily similar to Andrew Thomas' and it wouldn't surprise me if he showed vast improvement in the offseason.
If Ekwonu doesn't show growth through the midway point of 2024, give him a chance at restructuring his career at guard. Until then, I will preach patience.
Bryce Young and the hits keep coming...
Even with the win, Bryce is getting hit too much. Is it that the o-line needs help or that our receivers have difficulty getting open or is it a mix of both? - James Sutton
Certainly a mix of both, James.
We here at Cat Crave talked about this throughout the season and last Sunday was no different. Wide receiver and offensive line play have been some of the main talking points as to why the Carolina Panthers have struggled on offense and more specifically, Bryce Young.
There is some hope going forward. Thomas Brown's first game as offensive play-caller showed a mix of Frank Reich and Sean McVay principles that we have been preaching since the idea came around of him taking over that gig going back to the preseason. If anything, I saw an offensive coordinator who was putting his quarterback and offense in the best position to succeed despite the deficiencies.
The receiver room is still lackluster in some capacity, while the offensive line showed some steadiness in some spots. While there have been inconsistencies outside of Adam Thielen, rookie Jonathan Mingo turned in the best game of his young career with four catches for 62 yards against the Houston Texans, displaying the flashes that made him a second-round pick.
Yes, Young is getting hit a lot. That is the story of any quarterback drafted No. 1 overall.
Brown did a good job throughout the game getting his rookie signal-caller on wider throwing platforms and space to work with along with more simplicity. This allowed Young to play as freely and loose as he had all season.
The offensive line and wideout room will continue to be issues going forward in some sort of capacity. It's something Young will have to continue adjusting to and it's up to Brown to hide the deficiencies as best he can.
Carolina Panthers RB and return man rotation
Wonder when RB Tarik Cohen might get a shot in the rotation. Any thoughts? - Ronald Douglas
Great question, Ronald.
It still sounds like Tarik Cohen is still trying to return to playing condition after being out of football for a couple of years due to injuries. However, there were some images of him at practice wearing the number of former Carolina Panthers star running back Jonathan Stewart while practicing punt and kick returns.
Carolina is keeping a three-man rotation in their running back room, with the players going forward being Chuba Hubbard, Raheem Blackshear, and Miles Sanders. It doesn't sound like the Panthers will move off from that or add a fourth option to the active gameday roster.
If they did, that means special teams coordinator Chris Tabor would want to have Cohen in the return game. Basically what I'm saying is that Ihmir Smith-Marsette should not be handling punt return duties.
I have not been fond of Smith-Marsette in recent weeks. There are times when he attempts to return punts from deep inside Carolina territory only to put his team in a poor position.
Not only that, he'll also fair catch at times when there is a possibility the ball could bounce into the end zone for a touchback. This would allow the offense to begin their series from a respectable field position.
Cohen was considered one of the best punt returners in the league before injuries derailed his career. Is there still some magic in No. 28? I hope so, and it would be the best-case scenario for a Panthers special teams unit that should be considered one of the strongest groups on the team.
I would love to see Cohen get some chances at returning punts, though being away from the game for a few years can change a player for better or worse. Blackshear would be a great option, too. The former undrafted free agent was explosive on Sunday with great kick-off returns and totaling over 130 all-purpose yards.
Overall, don't expect Cohen to be on an NFL field anytime soon. Expect Blackshear to take over as the team's lead return man going forward while the Panthers roll with their current three-man running back rotation.
Final thoughts on Carolina Panthers trade deadline
Is Scott Fitterer going to get fired after this season? - Robert Brown
With all due respect to Robert, it's not surprising to see this question following a silent trade deadline from general manager Scott Fitterer and the Carolina Panthers front office.
I don't disagree with wanting Fitterer gone. He has underwhelmed since being hired in 2021 despite pulling off the trade-up for Bryce Young in this year's draft.
For a GM who has indeed underwhelmed in the last three seasons including this year, is it really surprising that the front office didn't make any sort of move at the deadline?
Carolina could've sold on Tuesday. They likely took calls and made some, but never did anything further than work on a potential deal.
However, the current position of the team following a win and the fact Carolina was leading multiple games in their 0-6 start shows me that this is a team that believes it can go on a run. Whether I agree with that idea or not.
This is also a team with 14 total draft selections in the next two years plus no first-rounder in next year's draft. Whether it's this front office or a new one, the Panthers likely wanted to hold onto those selections instead of overreacting to one win.
I'm surprised that Carolina didn't sell at the deadline. However, it's not shocking either.
Donte Jackson played his best game of the season against Houston, while Terrace Marshall Jr. is seen as depth going forward. Losing any sort of backup options will hurt a team that is already struggling overall.
As to Fitterer's job security, I don't think it would shock or surprise a soul among the Panthers fanbase if the Teppers wanted to move in a different direction. Speaking optimistically and hypothetically, promoting vice president of football administration Samir Suleiman would be a neat in-house promotion, which would allow him to bring his guys into the front office.